Aetiologia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The study of the causes or origins of diseases and medical conditions
2. the investigation into the factors that contribute to the onset of a particular ailment
3. a branch of knowledge focused on understanding the reasons behind health issues and their development

Etymology: Ancient Greek "aitia" meant "cause" or "blame," and "aitiologia" joined it to "logia," "giving an account of," so the Greek term was essentially "the giving of causes." Medieval and early modern Latin writers took it over as "aetiologia," and the word reached English in this unadapted form, keeping its Latin spelling and the same sense of tracing causes back through a chain of explanation. In English the spelling "aetiology" became the dominant form, and "aetiologia" survives as a variant that retains the Latin look. Its specific meaning here, the investigation of the factors that lead to the onset of a disease, follows from the older sense of seeking the causes behind any phenomenon, narrowed to medicine.